China´s Nouveau Riche, Modernization, and Victorian Era

1580 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chinese culture during the nineteenth century

China hasn’t operated with an aristocratic social group since the Han Dynasty (Global Security). The equality that was encouraged during the communist regime blocked the development of an elitist culture within China. However, communism is being glossed over in favor of capitalism, Chinese aristocrats, powered by the recent boom of the economy, are on the rise. China lacks a long established aristocratic culture due to it’s communist past, and as a result, its nouveau riche look elsewhere for examples of elitist culture. Compared to China’s nouveau riche, who are not from traditionally wealthy families, long established European elitist cultures, or the “old money”, are prestigious. These upper classes, such as the Victorian high class of the 1800s are seen as prestigious because of their strict social conduct and total control of society and politics (Bayley). The acceptance of China’s nouveau riche among these long established elite “old rich” cultures requires emulation of the cultural and social norms. “The realities of the Victorian age are seen to be with significant historical resonance to China’s modernization process” (Li). The Victorian era holds the perfect stanford of taste for Chinese aristocrats. For Chinese nouveau riche women, emulation of 19th century Victorian Era elitist culture is the ultimate show of status, through patterns of consumerism, appreciation of Western art, and focus on classic etiquette. “Newly wealthy Chinese women forked over 16,000 dollars to be taught high etiquette” (New York Times). The women attending these courses feel the need “to demonstrate that they don’t just own the money, but also [possess] the cultural refinement that comes with such wealth” (New York Times). To achieve this cultu... ... middle of paper ... ...titute. Worldwatch Institute, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. Pickford, James. "Rich Collectors from China Switch Spending Power to Western Art." Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd., 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. Pike, John. "Military." Chinese History. GlobalSecurity.org, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. S, Bayley. Victorian Values: An Introduction. N.p.: n.p., 2008. Print. Scheetz, Trevor K. A Modern Investigation of Status Consumption. Rep. Case Western Reserve University, n.d. Web. Shaw, Bernard. Pygmalion. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print. Svinos, George, and Nick Debnam. Attitudes to Luxury Brands (TNS Survey). N.d. Raw data. Monash University, Shanghai, China. Thomson, Ian. "Spectacle and Artifice." Common Places » Spectacle and Artifice: Victorian Advertisement and Its Impact on The Importance of Being Earnest. Common Places, 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Silver Dbq

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    desire for the opulence of the Chinese silks, gold, perfumes, and other high end products. The

    Read More

  • The Chinese Experience In The 19th Century

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Immigration, the act of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. Throughout the United States’ history, immigrants faced various challenges and especially after 1880. Most immigrants moved to achieve the American dream of having a better life and pursuing their dreams. But, this experience as they moved, was different for every immigrant. Some lives improved while others did not. Immigrants such as Catholics, Italians, and the Chinese were not welcomed into America in the late 19th century and early 20th century because of their differences in beliefs and cultures.

    Read More

  • China's Economy and Society in the Late 1940's and 1950's

    456 Words  | 1 Pages

    China's Economy and Society in the Late 1940's and 1950's. In 1945, the war with Japan ended. It left China's economy and society in a ruins. The country is divided into two.

    Read More

  • Chinese Literati In China

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    China has gone through many changes in its history. Changes include economic, political, and social. In the early 1500 and throughout history, mostly all social classes followed Confucianism. Confucianism is a type of religion based on an ideal society (Chang 2012, 22). China was molded though Confucianism but that slowly deteriorated as years went on. One main group that has been a main part in these changes is the Chinese literati. The Chinese literati include the higher-class people such as officials and scholars. The Chinese literati were the dominant social class during the 1500’s but their power slowly decreased throughout history. Throughout my paper, I will explain the Chinese literati involvement as centuries passed.

    Read More

  • Even in His Rise to Power, Wang Lung Respected and Loved the Earth

    931 Words  | 2 Pages

    Often with the gain of monetary wealth, the decline of morality follows closely behind. This is magnified in the lives of Wang Lung’s three sons. The eldest son becomes obsessed with women and is eager to satisfy the desires of the flesh. For the rich, this is a common thing. Once you tire of the beautiful maid that has been given as your wife, once she grows fat and ugly from the children she bore you, it is acceptable if not admirable and encouraged to take on another. The middle son is an excellent business man. He is learned, unlike his father, and sent to be apprenticed as a grain merchant. Unlike his older brother, who is obsessed with keeping up appearances and seeming as a dignified scholar, this man would rather keep his money hoarded. As the eldest brother prepares a home befit for a dynasty, he complains that too much silver is being spent. While it is good to be frugal, greed is not an admirable trait.

    Read More

  • Passport To China Essay

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender equality has been an issue in the world for the past century. The contrast between men and women in China begins at home and translates into workplace expectations. In China, the expectation in the home is that men are superior to women and that she should be obliged to serve her husband. According to the Passport to China, “Confucianism is still a major factor in Chinese culture. A direct quote from the Passport to China represents this well. “The Confucian husband rules over his wife as a lord rules his people.” This essentially means that the husband is superior to the woman entirely in households that still maintain the Confucian attitudes of the past.

    Read More

  • Women in Chinses History

    4790 Words  | 10 Pages

    Although there have been women in China that have held positions of power and even lead in prominent positions, the history of the Chinese civilization has been one of male dominance. “Unfortunately, no level of leadership, education or social prominence for women has changed the patriarchal nature of traditional Chinese society (Perry 279).” Women in Chinese society are still considered to be a possession of the man or are looked upon as servants. Because they are seen in this manner, except for a few, women have not been able to contribute spiritually, politically or scientifically to Chinese society. It is to say almost for certain that women being constrained in this manner has prevented China from advancing to its full potential. The morale of a suppressive society is not one that encourages imagination, exploration or advancement. Although the Chinese in general are an efficient people, they have not continued their at one time rapid advances in technology. This is partly due to the fact that women have so often been kept to the side and unable to be involved in the same aspect as men are. Some may argue that the women influence in the home as a caregiver would have somewhat of an impact on their value and importance. However, in Chinese and many other societies, “homemaker” is thought to be the only role for women and not considered to be one of great value. It is not surprising that after thousands of years, the transformation of the Chinese society still reflects the patriarchal history of traditional China and the defining characteristics that define women in a submissive role to men. This paper will examine the attitudes and feelings toward women, give examples of women in leadership positions throughout the history of China, discuss their inability to bring forth change to the patriarchal society and the modern day status of women.

    Read More

  • Gender Discrimination In China Essay

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Confucius, a Chinese teacher and philosopher of the period of Chinese history where he created a patriarchal society that woman had to obey their husbands and grown sons. Therefore, during the early times, people in China are generally gender stereotype. Women were discriminated because they were deemed as weak, submissive, passive and dependent on men which only capable of doing house chores and taking care of children comparing to the males who is seen as the core of the family because they were dominant, independent, assertive and usually the one who provides financial support to the family. Women do not have legal rights in making decisions and most of them were illiterate and only educated on self-discipline, etiquette, relationships with in-laws, household management, humility and chastity. Women being lesser than men were considered to be natural and proper. This in turn caused gender inequality and it is not unusual to see males dominate the business world in the early days as well. However, in the modern days now, China has become more of a communism where everyone, regardless of gender, receives equal shares of benefits derived from labour. This led to a rise of the general status of women and they were given more opportunities for education. This is due to the president of China, Mao Zedong who utters the memorable phrase “Women hold up half of the sky” which changed the perceptions towards women in China. According to the study produced by the Beijing arm of accounting firm, Grant Thornton, the proportion of women in senior management in China has climbed to 51% at the year of 2013, up from 25% in 2012 and outpacing the global average of 21%. In a survey of 200 businesses in China, 94% of them employed wo...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in China

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    For a country which has thousands of years of history, China, like majority society in the world, still remains some kind of patriarchy and it is continuously affecting the gender roles in China and all around the world. As a person who born and raise in China, I evidenced how gender roles alter with the development of China.

    Read More

  • Bound For Beauty Essay

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Turner, Christena L. “Locating Footbinding: Variations across class and space in the Nineteeth and Early Twentieth Century China” 1997 Journal of historical sociology

    Read More

  • Rosewood Branding Strategy

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    -Status symbols: Sophisticated customers who value the distinctive, exclusive collection seem to value the corporate-branded version of luxury. –Philip Martiz, chairman of the board

    Read More

  • Luxury Brand Essay

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brand equity is crucial as it implies that the brand itself is an important (financial) asset and can be calculated in financial terms (Barwise, 1993). This is particularly important in the luxury sector as from a behavioural viewpoint, brand equity can differentiate a company or product from other competitors, adding to their competitive advantages based on non-profit competition (Aaker, 2004). The model created by Aaker (1992) states that there are four categories of brand equity; Loyalty, Awareness, Perceived Quality and Associations. Luxury branding relies on a high level of perceived quality, loyalty and associations, although potentially less so for awareness, as it is thought that consumers choose luxury brands based on their exclusivity and as such the more the awareness that surrounds the brand, there is potential for it to become less valuable (Phau and Prendergast,

    Read More

  • China In The 19th Century

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 19th century, China was not acknowledged as a sovereign nation. Instead, other nations elbowed one another for trading privileges and rights to partition China. Even after suggestions of compromise, the country collapsed in anger. Evidently, these nations later had to join forces to stop the rebellion they created.

    Read More

  • Prada: A Case Study

    2831 Words  | 6 Pages

    The high pressure luxury brand industry has evolved over the last few decades from a small and selective to a multibillion dollar arena offering significant potential and growth opportunity for the luxury brands that compete within its realm. With many luxury brands competing for over $225 billion (The Economist, 2009) in revenue each year it is easy to see how strategy plays an important role.

    Read More

  • Understanding Chinese Cultural Values: A Historical Perspective

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    Modesty is the first step to establishing a successful relationship because modesty not only represents one’s respect for self-perception, but it also indicates politeness and respect to others. Modesty requires people not to challenge authority, but to respect the authorities. Also, in many cases, an appropriate response to compliments would be a humble disagreement, indicating the compliment is more than what one deserves. Not many studies of Chinese cultural values include modesty as a separate cultural value; however, modesty is actually a favored personality feature in modern Chinese society. In sharp contrast to this, American culture promotes confidence over modesty in favor of self-realization. In addition, expressions of modesty in daily practice are very different in Chinese and American culture. The Chinese’s response to a compliment could be considered rude by an American. Thus modesty is included as a separate value in this list. Harmony with others is considered by many as “the cardinal value of Chinese culture” (Hu,

    Read More

More about China´s Nouveau Riche, Modernization, and Victorian Era

Open Document